Brillante Piano Festival 2024 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
No form of art is complete unless contrasting styles are brought together to create a contrasting, yet grand effect, bridging any differences beyond the artists’ love for the art. Pianists from across the world came together to present classical, jazz, pop and other musical genres at the recently concluded Brillante Piano Festival, Bengaluru.
Tazeem Sheikh, winner of the Brillante Piano Festival 2021 Award in the Jazz category, expressed the importance of learning the musical instrument. “It is essential for a young child to learn a musical instrument as it can help in controlling emotions; A tool also has the ability to build motor skills by enhancing hand-eye coordination. Apart from all this, the healing powers of music are well known,” he says.
Ta’zim played the title track of his album ‘Dwaam’ at this year’s festival DWAMand ‘Ether’ – both are a unique blend of Indo-classical and jazz music.
Tazeem Shaikh Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Brillante Piano Festival is perhaps the only piano festival organized in India, which invites not only experts from all over the world but also talented children. Mantra Upadhyay, a 12-year-old pianist from Gujarat, was this year’s winner in the classical category and runner-up in the jazz category.
“I love that the Brillante Piano Festival is open to all cultures and many styles of music. Additionally, this year there were also recitals and string quartet performances,” says Shantanu Patel, winner of the Brillante Piano Festival 2019 award in the classical category. Shantanu was also on the jury panel this year and performed Beethoven les adieux and Claude Debussy lay piano For your audience.
Shantanu Patel Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The festival welcomes almost as many styles of piano music as there are world cultures. Talking about his distinctive style, Tazeem explained, “You need to listen to a lot of jazz to really understand it, especially since it’s not in our blood. The full philosophy and understanding of jazz cannot be achieved unless one is immersed in the culture of oppression from which it arose. However, if you delve deeply into the music and listen to it long enough, you can begin to learn jazz, even though its sound is complex and layered.
Jazz is an incredibly improvisational genre. “The best thing about jazz is that you never know what is going to happen next,” said Pradyuman Singh Manot, one of India’s leading jazz players and a jury member at the festival. “It’s like a blind date with destiny,” he says.
According to Shantanu, while the average Indian may not connect with classical music as much as Bollywood numbers, it can be extremely beneficial for people struggling with mental health issues. “I have performed with autistic children in the audience and watched them visibly calm down,” he says.
“I believe that classical music reduces negativity and anxiety. I believe there are certain types of music that contain frequencies that release ear calming hormones.
Piano is not originally an Indian instrument, but it has captured the hearts of many people here. “The piano is a versatile instrument and covers a wide range of frequencies audible to the human ear,” says Ta’zim.
Brillante Piaao Festival 2024 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I started composing even before I learned to play the piano. When you can use all 10 of your fingers to play an instrument, you can play 10 different notes at the same time, and this gives you the opportunity to layer your music to a degree where you “Can sound like an orchestra just by playing the piano.” He adds.
Shantanu says, “Playing the piano takes me into a state of flow, where I forget the rest of the world.” He adds, “The piano is a symbol of grandeur that has a magnetic effect on people. It has an energy that attracts people, plus it is the easiest instrument to produce sound.
The evening concluded with a performance by sibling duo Lydian Nadaswaram and Amritvarshini, where 19-year-old Lydian played the piano while her sister played the flute and sang along.
published – October 28, 2024 07:11 PM IST
